***Disclosure: I received complimentary samples to facilitate my review. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***

Do you have older kids or teens? Or maybe a husband who likes to put things together like mine does? Building models is quite the rage these days, but buying RC cars or planes can drain your pocketbook really quickly. I don't know about you, but I can't afford to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on ONE toy. (Yes, they can really be that expensive!) Plus, when a part breaks on RC toys, replacing them and making repairs can be costly as well.

Thankfully, there are some fun, functional model planes that are ridiculously inexpensive. So affordable in fact that if you happen to break them, replacing the model altogether will only cost a few dollars. (And you know as well as I do that kids can be rough on their playthings! Or is that just MY kids?)

Anyway, Guillow's has been making simple yet challenging model kits for almost 88 years now. Today Guillow's is beloved by Grandpops as well as kids who may be technically savvy but still enjoy the simple beauty of building then flying a balsa wood toy plane. There are six new miniModels in the 4500 series, and for this iGeneration, building help is now available as a bonus online in 3D models that you can spring, turn and control with your mouse, plus how-to-assemble video on Youtube!

The 4500 Series starts with the U.S. Hellcat or U.S. Warhawk each with red propellers. The handsome German Fighter has distinctive black markings on its wingtips while the American war models sport patriotic blue. The non-military Rockstar Jet, V-Tail and Stunt Flyer round out the six miniModels. An affordable price of $8.99 is the cherry on top of this wonderful classic toy sundae. These are designed for a child 13 years old and up to assemble themselves, or a little younger child with an adult’s help.

Each kit contains everything you need to make a fully functional, flying model. You've got balsa wood sheets, which you can easily snap each component out of, a propellor, landing gear which is totally optional, as well as decals for the wings and a rubber band that winds up and spins the propellor when released. These planes fly up to 50 feet!

I know what you're thinking....These sound too simple to provide much of a challenge for older kids and adults. Well, that's what I thought, too. I was so wrong. Each kit takes approximately 45 minutes (or longer, in our case) to assemble, and you've got to pay very close attention to detail.

My husband and teen put together the 3 planes we received, and it took quite a bit of time to complete them. Luckily, there are very clear instructions included with the models, so there was very little guesswork involved. Please be advised that you will need tape and glue to complete these projects. All we had was Elmer's School Glue, which does work, but I would recommend using super glue or crazy glue since it adheres better and dries more quickly.

We did run into a few hiccups while assembling our Guillow's models. Some of the balsa wood pieces are very small, and removing them from the sheets was a challenge. Several pieces actually broke in the process. Luckily, it was nothing that a small amount of glue couldn't fix, and once the planes were completed, you couldn't even tell. Honestly, this is not much of a deterrent, since these are super inexpensive. I would definitely buy more of them for my kids to play with.

Overall, I think Guillow's model airplanes are a great, budget-friendly way to spend quality time as a family. These fun models also promotes critical thinking skills and hand-eye coordination. So if you've got a junior aviator at home who has a knack with construction, definitely check these out!

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Enter to WIN :

I am thrilled to announce that one lucky reader will receive 3 model airplane gliders from the awesome folks at Guillow's!

How cool is that?!

Simply enter using the easy Rafflecopter form below!

This giveaway is open to US residents 18+ until 11:59PM March 31, 2014. No PO Boxes. Winners will be drawn using Rafflecopter's Random Number Generator. I will notify winner via e-mail and they will have 48 hours to reply before I am forced to redraw winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. This contest is not affiliated with Facebook in any way.

Yes, I almost forgot about those visits to the Hobby Shop when our son was a little boy. My husband used to help him choose airplane kits made from balsa wood. They really enjoyed making those planes. Now it's time to introduce this fun activity to our 2 grandkids. Thanks for your review that took me down memory lane. :-)

Reply

Lynn Buttedal

3/9/2014 09:53:58 pm

My son and I .He is 27 now lol

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Ann Fantom

3/10/2014 12:20:13 am

Yes, my husband and daughter work on models together

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Lis K

3/10/2014 12:30:47 am

Nope, haven't really done it yet but I'd like to since my kids are getting older. I think they'll like the model airplane alot.

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Jennifer Rote

3/10/2014 02:19:57 am

My son loves to build planes like these.

Reply

Sherry Compton

3/10/2014 05:30:07 am

We've done many of both. My son loves planes, and my husband is very much into cars so we had a lot of model planes and cars set out on the table.

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Christina Foley

3/10/2014 01:02:41 pm

I used to put model cars and airplanes together with my brother growing up all the time....I've put together some cheap model airplanes with my kids.. they loved them, but they didn't stay together too well so I am always looking for new ones or new ideas for ones.

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PR Friendly Mama!

I'm Brandy, a happily married, proud mama of two munchkins and a teen. You can read more about me HERE. If you're interested in building a working relationship, please feel free to e-mail me at: NewlyCrunchyMamaOf3@gmail.com